The coalition ministry, under the leadership of the Earl of Aberdeen, came to power in 1852 following the short-lived Tory administration under the Earl of Derby. It included the leading Whig and Peelite statesmen of the period. This engraving of Gilbert's portrait shows Aberdeen's cabinet deciding upon the expedition to the Crimea in the early months of 1854. Palmsterston, on the right, is seen pointing at the town of Balaclava on a map of the region held open by the Duke of Newcastle. The early set-backs and the controversies over the conduct of operations during the war would further undermine what was an already weak and divided cabinet. In January 1855 Aberdeen resigned and was succeeded by Palmerston, who brought the war to a successful conclusion in 1856.